Reality TV subgenre mines storage unit auctions

In this publicity image released by A&E Network, married auctioneer team Laura Dotson, left, and Dan Dotson from the reality series, "Storage Wars." The series, which follows four professional buyers and their teams as they scour repossessed storage units in search of hidden treasure, premieres Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2010 at 10 p.m. EST on A&E. (AP Photo/A&E Network, Emily Shur)
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In this publicity image released by A&E Network, married auctioneer team Laura Dotson, left, and Dan Dotson from the reality series, "Storage Wars." The series, which follows four professional buyers and their teams as they scour repossessed storage units in search of hidden treasure, premieres Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2010 at 10 p.m. EST on A&E. (AP Photo/A&E Network, Emily Shur)
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In this publicity image released by Spike TV, Clinton "Ton" Jones, left, and Allen Haff are shown in a scene from "Auction Hunters," about prospectors who bid on abandoned storage units that are put up for public auction. The series airs on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. EST on Spike TV. (AP Photo/Spike TV)— AP

In this publicity image released by Spike TV, Clinton "Ton" Jones, left, and Allen Haff are shown in a scene from "Auction Hunters," about prospectors who bid on abandoned storage units that are put up for public auction. The series airs on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. EST on Spike TV. (AP Photo/Spike TV)
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LOS ANGELES 
Allen Haff has found himself in a precarious position. Armed with a pocket knife and a rechargeable flashlight resembling a space-age ray gun, the lanky 41-year-old is dangerously perched inside a storage unit on the side of a mattress that is teetering against a rickety tower of boxes.

Each time Haff shifts his weight while slashing open the sealed boxes, the dingy mattress bends as if it will suddenly give way and toss Haff down on top of the mounds of junk beneath him.

He doesn't care. At this moment, he doesn't want to be anywhere else. Haff makes money by uncovering goodies inside storage units auctioned off because of unpaid rent,

"I'm falling in love," he says after finding some pottery inside one of three units that he and his business partner bought at a recent auction. "Every time I open one of these boxes, I feel like there's an arrow pointing me to the next one. I can hear them saying, 'Keep looking. Keep looking.' I want to see it, and I want to be the first one to see it."

The addictive exploits of Haff and his burly 32-year-old partner Clinton "Ton" Jones are the focus of Spike's "Auction Hunters," the latest entry in the popular trash-or-treasure reality TV subgenre. Much like such predecessors as PBS' "Antiques Roadshow" and History Channel's "American Pickers," "Auction Hunters" fixates on finding gems among garbage.

With only a few minutes to peek inside units at their potential purchases - no touching allowed - Haff and Jones must use clues to decide how much to bid or whether to bid at all. If they win, they must take everything. They picked this unit because it has a vintage case and the boxes are still intact, which might mean something valuable is inside them.

Haff, a sometimes actor and TV host who also scours thrift stores and estate sales, prefers his form of modern-day pirating versus "the guys that go out and haggle with old guys to take their treasure away." He says starring in the show, which premiered in early November, has made him a target at auctions though, and that he and Jones usually pay more now.

Jones, the less hyper of the duo, says "Auction Hunters" only offers a glance at their true findings. The show documents just 10 percent of their purchases because "no one wants to see that we bought a room, and it turned out to be crap." Most stuff goes in the trash or to charity. Photos and other personal items are returned to the owners.

"We're not taking away anyone's history," assures Jones. "That's not what this is for us. These people put stuff in storage and left it there for a reason. They didn't have any use for it anymore. We're cleaning up other people's messes then recycling it back to people who can use it. If we can make a buck in the process, that's the American way."

A&E must think so, too. The network is debuting its own storage unit auction series on Wednesday. Instead of examining one team of auction hunters, "Storage Wars" focuses on four buyers. Rob Sharenow, senior vice president of alternative programming at A&E, says he hasn't seen "Auction Hunters" but believes there's enough room on cable for both shows.